The main allure of Lake Toba in North Sumatra lies in the heart of captivating natural beauty. The largest volcanic lake in the world is the prime tourist spot of North Sumatra, became one of the few Indonesian tourist destinations most visited by foreign tourists, including Bali, Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Surabaya.
Administratively, the area of Lake Toba unfolds in seven districts in North Sumatra, namely Samosir, Toba Samosir, Simelungun, North Tapanuli, Humbang Hasundutan, Karo, and Dairi.
This is due to the length of the lake that reaches up to 100 km with a width of 30 km. Toba lake has a maximum depth reaches 529 meters with an area of 1,130 square kilometers of the lake.
Geographically, Lake Toba is located in the Bukit Barisan mountains of North Sumatra province with the topography of the region is dominated by hills and mountains. Region of the catchment area in the tourist area of Lake Toba is composed of natural forests, meetings, plantations, until the mixture gardens. The lake water level is located at an altitude of 903 meters above sea level. Here enchanting natural panorama treats when you arrive in the region of Lake Toba with a blast of air that is so cool.
Lake Toba
Lake Toba is a lake of volcanic activity results an old mountain, the lake created by the super volcanic eruption of Mount Toba happened about 69,000 to 77,000 years ago. The eruption of Mount Toba is thousands of times larger than normal and volcanic eruptions affect the world climate globally.
This is the largest volcanic eruption on Earth ever known to man within the last 25 million years. The study found that the super volcanic dust from the eruption of the volcano early spread to the North Pole with the discovery of evidence of volcanic ash forms of the same molecule at 2,100 points.
However, local communities have their own story about the formation of the largest lake in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
According to legend, the lake came from the story of stealth fish family. There is a young man who was looking for fish and managed to get a fish. But it turns out that fish do not like fish normally, but can speak and transforming it into a flawless woman by the name of Toba. Long story short, they were married, but with the proviso that the young man should not even touched on the origins of the woman.
In the course of their marriage, Toba finally gave birth to a son and named Naidoo. The children loved to eat. Until at some point, Naidoo was asked by his mother to deliver food to the father in the fields. But on the way, Samosir devour the food. The father who has felt starved decided to go home.
On the way, the father saw traces of food that the child had been spent. Finally the father got angry and said that Naidoo was the son of a fish. In that instant, the rain was falling and the water out of the ground to create a lake that is now known by the name of Toba and an island in the middle called Samosir.
Tourism Lake Toba you will be presenting captivating natural wonders on the island of Sumatra. Together with Samosir Island, located in the middle of the lake, Lake Toba is a major icon of the tourist attractions in North Sumatra's most famous. Some of the most interesting activities carried out in the popular tourist area of Lake Toba is swimming, boating scenes, to climb the mountain. All are wrapped in a blast of cool air and a clean and natural kaharmonisan that blends beautifully.
Interesting Spot Lake Toba Tourism
In general, the tourist area of Lake Toba can be enjoyed at several tourist spots as follows:
1. Samosir Island
Located in the middle of Lake Toba, you can find a place to stay Batak Toba indigenous community on the island. There are various kinds of cultural relics of the past on the island of Samosir Batak, including stone tombs and traditional villages as well as the unique architectural design of the building.
You can go to see the tomb of King Sidabutar that has been aged 500 years and witnessed the statue Sigale-Gale can dance. One of the interesting cultural tourism in Kampung Tua Huta Bolon is a traditional Batak dance show called Dancing Sigale-Gale.
Renting a motor vehicle also is one of the other options of interest in the island. You just need to go to the village of Tomok on the island to look for motorcycles, and can get around the island to enjoy the beautiful panorama that were there, and of course you can see the panorama of Lake Toba from the highest peak on the island of Samosir.
If you want to see the traditional courts Bataknese, go to Batu Parsidangan Ambarita to watch hundreds of years old and a legal execution of prisoners there. Some other interesting places on the island of Samosir also you can visit, such as Lake and Lake Aek Sidihoni Natonang. Lake is located in the village of Aek Natonang Tanjungan, has water so clear in the middle of green grass growing around it. From this location, you can see the beautiful natural scenery with hilly landscape overgrown with pine trees. As the name suggests Natonang, the situation in around Aek Natonang feels calm and natural.
If you want to find some souvenirs Batak, go to the village to buy Jangga Ulos fabric woven so beautifully with delicate motifs. This village is one of the famous weaving Ulos communities in North Sumatra and you can also see the manufacturing process there.
Samosir Island Address: Samosir, North Sumatra
GPS Coordinates: 2.6735255,98.8592161
2. Parapat
Parapat is a city located on a peninsula that juts into Lake Toba. This is one of the center's famous Lake Toba with a large number of tourist visits, is also a top choice to begin the journey to the island of Samosir using the ferry or boat.
Parapat, the beauty of Lake Toba can be enjoyed in a variety of interesting activities, among which are popular water activities. You can swim, water skiing, canoeing ria, up boating, fishing, and so forth. Even playing golf you can also do in Parapat.
On the hill Naborsahon river, you can see a wide variety of plants that bloom throughout the year, including bogenvile, pointetties, and honey sucle. The cool climate in Parapat town makes this region as one of the tourist destinations of North Sumatra visited by tourists. Parapat, you can also go to the House of Exile Bung Karno. This is the place where the first President of the once exiled by the Dutch in 1948 along with several national figures, such as Sutan Sjahrir and Agus Salim. This exile home stands firmly with the dominance of white paint and a yard wide, has a classic European-style architectural buildings, and located at the edge of town overlooking Parapat directly to Lake Toba.
In some parts of the city, you can also find a number of shops selling a variety of merchandise and various souvenirs of Batak, such as various accessories to clothing.
Hotels in Lake Toba Tourism Regions
On the island of Samosir, Tuktuk is a tourist area that lead to a concentration where there are a variety of accommodation, ranging from guesthouses to homestay. While in town Parapat, the number of hotels and various other accommodation available in significant amounts.
You can contact the hotel there or looking for a hotel in Parapat online. One of booking online is popular among connoisseurs of the trip is AGODA.
Transport to Lake Toba
The most common way to be able to arrive in the region of Lake Toba is by taking the bus at Bus Terminal Pinang Baris Medan route Medan - Parapat and this trip will take a duration of 6 hours. Parapat is located as far as 176 km from Medan and provided several modes of land transportation, such as bus, car travel, taxis, and rental of a personal vehicle.
Bus ride, you only need to pay around Rp 40 thousand to Rp 50 thousand per person. Meanwhile, car travel will impose a tariff of Rp 70 thousand to 80 thousand per person. If you want to rent a private vehicle, you will be subject to a tariff of Rp 600-700 thousand per day.
In addition to these Medan - Parapat, you can also arrive in the tourist area of Lake Toba bus ride route Medan - Berastagi and fees charged Rp 40 thousand per person. Upon arrival at Parapat, you can continue with your travel plans to Samosir Island or enjoy Lake Toba from Parapat. If you want to Samosir Island, you can boarding the ferry at a cost of Rp 10 thousand per person.
